New EU vehicle noise limits

Transport & Environment, the European Environmental Bureau and the Health and Environment Alliance will highlight a number ways of improving the Commission’s proposal.

In summary:

• • Given the scale and urgency of the health impacts of traffic noise, a faster timetable is needed for introducing the revised standards, with step 1 to be enforced in 2013 and step 2 in 2015;
  • To set out a pathway for further noise reductions in the future, and to provide time to the industry to prepare, a further step must be included now to enter into force in 2020, with a 3-decibel reduction compared to step 2 for vans and cars and a 4-decibel reduction compared to step 2 for lorries;
  • A stronger focus on lorries, so that the noise measured in the official test better matches real world noise emissions;
  • Require information on vehicle noise emissions to be publicly available, via a European vehicle noise label, with corresponding transparency of the data from the official tests;
  • Stricter limits for peak levels of noise, for example when an engine is revved. These peak levels of noise can be particularly intrusive.